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Distributors Must Be Involved in Codes and Standards

The codes and standards development process can be a confusing and overwhelming process that never ends. The American Supply Association (ASA) believes that being at the forefront battling code issues is necessary to protect the interest of its members. The ASA Codes and Standards department is a tool that ASA members have to engage themselves in the process. Read more.

Are You Ready for Proposition 65?

On August 18, 2017, the American Supply Association (ASA),
in collaboration with Intertek, provided a webinar on California Proposition 65
regulations compliance and its upcoming changes. The webinar was tailored to
meet ASA’s unique membership needs and answered many of the questions on this
complex regulation, which applies to nearly every business selling products
into California. It is crucial that distributors, manufacturers, and suppliers
ensure that they understand and comply with this regulation, which can be
costly if left unchecked! You can
view the webinar, download a copy of the slides, and access the webinar Q&A.

IAPMO UPC and UMC Official Results are now Available (8-31-17)

The 2017 UPC
and UMC
Report on Comments (ROC) are now available for the public. The ROC contains the
official results from the May1-4, 2017 Technical Committee meeting which met to
generate the 2018 edition of the codes. The next stage of the process is the
Association Technical Meeting which will take place in Anchorage Alaska on
September 26, 2017 at the Hilton Anchorage. Anyone wishing to make a motion,
please contact IAPMO or click
here for
instructions.

ASA Codes and Standards Committee to Discuss Comments for UPC and UMC (4-11-17)

ASA Codes and Standards Committee will have a teleconference meeting to discuss public comments submitted to the IAPMO Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) and the Uniform Mechanical Code (UMC).

The ASA committee will determine ASA’s positions on the various public comments submitted to the UPC and UMC. This call is scheduled for Friday April 21. ASA members are encouraged to stay up-to-date on the Codes and Standards issues as it may affect your products.

The UPC and UMC Technical Committee will meet, May 1-4, 2017 in Anaheim, California, to act on all public comments submitted.

To obtain more information on the upcoming ASA teleconference meeting, please contact Hugo Aguilar, P.E, Director of Codes and Standards.

Stakeholder Discussions to Control Impurities in End-of-Life Brass Scrap (3-7-17)

ASA participated in a summit with the Copper Development Association (CDA) to discuss the recycling of lead-free brass products. As introduced in January 2014, EPA requires the maximum lead content for the wetted surfaces of plumbing products used in potable water to be 0.25 percent. Prior to the January 2014 amendment, the maximum lead content was 8 percent. Read more

ASSE Publishes Scald Awareness White Paper (2-17-17)

The ASSE International Scald Awareness Task Group was formed to educate and give guidance to the general public and plumbing industry on potential scalding hazards associated with domestic hot water at the point of use. View the white paper.

Minnesota Governor Announces New Goal to Improve Water Quality in Minnesota 25 Percent by 2025 (2-17-17)

The “25 by ‘25” goal would engage local governments, businesses, farmers, scientists, and others in a new collaborative effort to restore and improve water quality across Minnesota. Read more

District Court Rules in Favor of Copyright Protection for Standards Incorporated by Reference into Federal Regulations (2-17-17)

EPA Proposing Revisions to the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act (2-2-17)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a revision to the existing Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act (RLDWA). The proposed revision will require labeling of plumbing products to differentiate plumbing products that meet the lead free requirements from those that are exempt from the lead free requirements and to require manufacturers to certify compliance with the lead free requirements. The intent of the proposed revision is to reduce the inadvertent use of non-lead free plumbing products in potable use applications and, consequently, reduce exposure to lead in drinking water and associated adverse health effects. READ MORE

The
American Supply Association (ASA) is proud to announce that ASA has been
appointed by the International Code Council (ICC) Board of Directors as a
member of the Plumbing, Mechanical, and Fuel Gas Code Action Committee (PMGCAC)
for the 2018-2019 Code Development Cycle. Hugo Aguilar, P.E., ASA's Director of
Codes and Standards, has been appointed to represent ASA as a full committee
voting member for these codes. The objective of the Code Action Committees is
to enhance the technical requirements of the International Codes.
Read more

EPA Investing in
Researching Key Industry Issue
(1-18-17)

As
states like California grapple with water shortages, governments have urged and
in many cases required manufacturers to do more with less. Less, being less
water in this case. As every manufacturer and distributor of plumbing products
realizes, eliminating waste from a home requires water, and the regrettable
trend has been to choke off the supply of water to remove that waste. In
addition, bringing water into a home with narrower, longer and aging systems
causes unintended consequences to the water we use. Last week, the EPA
announced a pair of grants to leading research universities to look in to
'premise plumbing', the portion of the drinking water distribution system
located within a building, including pipes, valves and faucets, that carries
water from its entry into a building all the way to the consumer’s tap. The EPA
announced nearly $4 million in funding to two universities (Drexel University
and Purdue University) to research water quality issues related to low flow
conditions of drinking water in premise plumbing systems.
Read more

The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to ban the use of the
toxic chemical trichloroethylene (TCE) due to health risks when used in vapor
degreasing. The proposed rule was issued under section 6(a) of the Toxic
Substances Control Act, as amended by the
Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21 st Century Act. Specifically,
EPA is proposing to prohibit manufacture (including import), processing, and
distribution in commerce of TCE for use in vapor degreasing. EPA is also
proposing to require manufacturers, processors, and distributors to notify
retailers and others in their supply chains of the prohibitions. Potential
affected entities may include: Petroleum manufacturing, synthetic rubber
manufacturing, machine shops, fluid power pumps and motor manufacturing, industrial
and commercial fan and blower and air purification equipment, just to name a few.
Please see
prepublication
copy notice
for instructions on how to submit a comment. Comments
on the proposed rule must be received by March 11, 2017 (60 days after date of
publication in the Federal Register).
Read
more

IAPMO Submits UPC TIA for Public Review (1-05-17)

IAPMO has submitted for public review a Tentative Interim Amendment (TIA) to their
2015 edition of the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC). Section 402.6.1, which
pertains to water closet flanges, is being proposed for revision. Any parties
who are affected by this change must submit their comments by no later than
January 24, 2017.

ASA Appointed to the NFPA 54 and NFPA 58 Technical Committees (1-05-17)

The American Supply Association (ASA) is proud to announce it will serve as a
voting member in the development of NFPA 54 (
National Fuel Gas Code ) and
NFPA 58 (
Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code ). Hugo Aguilar, P.E., ASA’s
Director of Codes and Standards, has been appointed to represent ASA as a full
committee voting member for these codes. ASA understands that the
provisions in NFPA 54 and NFPA 58 can potentially affect the interest of its members.
NFPA 54 can affect members of the plumbing and HVAC industry; and NFPA 58 can
affect members of the PVF industry. ASA is committed to participating in
the development of these codes and bettering an industry, which protects the
public’s health and welfare.
READ
MORE

DOE Publishes a Final Rule Pertaining to the Conversion
Factors for Consumer Water Heaters and Certain Commercial Water Heaters
(12-29-16)

The
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published a final rule in the
Federal Register pertaining
to the conversion factors for consumer water heaters and certain commercial
water heaters.
81 FR 96204 . The
effective date of this rule is December 29, 2016.
Read more

EPA Releases Report on Impacts
from the Hydraulic Fracturing Water Cycle on Drinking Water Resources in the
United States (12-15-16)

The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is releasing its scientific report on the
impacts from
hydraulic fracturing activities on drinking water resources . This final report provides a review and synthesis of
available scientific information concerning the relationship between hydraulic
fracturing activities and drinking water resources in the United States.
Read more EPA released the final
report, “Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and Gas: Impacts from the Hydraulic
Fracturing Water Cycle on Drinking Water Resources”. Read the
executive summary and the entire report .

On December 12, 2016, the Office of the
Assistant General Counsel for Enforcement issued an
enforcementpolicy regarding certain consumer water heaters. This enforcement policy statement explains DOE's policy
with respect to the enforcement of certification requirements and compliance
with standards as to certain individual models of consumer water heaters
regarding violations occurring on or after December 12, 2016, and before
December 31, 2017.

DOE Issues a Final Rule Notice Pertaining to the Conversion Factors for Consumer Water Heaters and Certain Commercial Water Heaters (12-6-16)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a pre-publication final rule pertaining to the conversion factors for consumer water heaters and certain commercial water heaters. Read more

ASA Appointed to the IAPMO Water Efficiency and Sanitation Standard (11-16-16)

The IAPMO Executive Committee has appointed Hugo Aguilar to represent ASA on the
Water Efficiency and Sanitation Standard (WE·Stand) Technical Committee. The
purpose of the WE·Stand is to
provide minimum requirements to optimize water
use practices attributed to the built environment while maintaining protection
of the public health, safety and welfare. The need for this standard is in
recognition that with increasing demand, constrained infrastructure and
supplies, climate change, and pervasive droughts globally, there is a critical
need to reduce water consumption attributed to the built environment through
conservation and reuse. With this come increased risks to public health,
safety, and building systems performance. This American National Standard would
provide minimum requirements that optimize built environment water use
practices and corresponding provisions that maintain protection to public
health, safety, and welfare.
READ MORE

Commonly Used Solvents Found to Cause Cancer by the CAL EPA/OEHHA (11-14-16)

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is releasing a revised draft document summarizing the carcinogenicity and derivation of an inhalation cancer unit risk factor (URF) for tertiary -Butyl Acetate (TBAc). Inhalation cancer unit risk factors are used to estimate lifetime cancer risks associated with inhalation exposure to a carcinogen. These documents will be reviewed and discussed by the Scientific Review Panel on Toxic Air Contaminants (SRP) at its meeting on December 14, 2016 in Sacramento, CA. TBAC is commonly used as a solvent in a variety of products including coatings, inks, adhesives, industrial cleaners and degreasers. Read more

DOE Publishes a Final Rule Pertaining to Test Procedures for Commercial Water Heating Equipment (11-10-16)

The Department of Energy (DOE) has published a Federal Register final rule pertaining to test procedures for commercial water heating equipment 81 FR 79261 .